When it comes to refreshing shave ice in all-natural flavors, look no further than Island Girl Shave Ice. Owner Mellani Myatt had the idea in 2019, but officially started the business last October.
“In 2019, I knew I wanted to do shave ice, but then the pandemic hit,” says Myatt, who owns the business with her daughter, Cheantel Kim. “It gave me a lot of time to practice my recipes. We fell in love with the natural fruit version of shave ice, and there’s not a lot to offer on the west side. We thought there might be a need for a healthier version of shave ice rather than all the artificial flavors. That was our goal — to do shave ice that was all-natural with no preservatives.”
“We focus on having shave ice with real fruit syrups — nothing artificial — and made with pure cane sugar,” Kim adds.
Choose from popular combos like Ube-licious ($10) — ube and haupia flavors with haupia whip, toasted coconut flakes, ube mochi, condensed milk drizzle and vanilla ice cream — and Tropicolada ($10), which features haupia and pineapple flavors, haupia whip, fresh pineapple, toasted coconut flakes, mochi and vanilla ice cream.
“Tropicolada is like our version of piña colada,” Kim says. “We make the haupia whip and mochi fresh every day.”
Customers also have the option to custom-build their own shave ice ($6.50-$10.50). Choose from flavors like strawberry, strawberries and cream, mango, haupia, or ube, and select add-ons like fresh strawberries, mochi, and lilikoi glaze ($1 each), and toppings like li hing powder and condensed milk (50 cents each).
“The custom-build shave ice with strawberry and strawberries and cream is popular,” Myatt says. “Strawberries and cream features a strawberry puree based with half and half and heavy cream. We add vanilla ice cream, condensed milk, fresh strawberries and vanilla ice cream.”
Follow the biz on Instagram
(@islandgirlshaveice808) to see where they’ll be every week.
“It’s all about the experience,” Myatt says. “We love to see people smile when we hand them their bowl. That’s my ultimate goal — to see their face light up.”
Island Girl Shave Ice
Various locations
Instagram: @islandgirlshaveice808
How to order: In person only
How to pay: Credit cards, cash, Venmo and Apple Pay accepted
